


Due Date

by sjhw_tolerance (mscorkill)



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-19
Updated: 2012-05-19
Packaged: 2017-11-05 15:19:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/407952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscorkill/pseuds/sjhw_tolerance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teyla prepares for the birth of her child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Due Date

**Author's Note:**

> Teyla-centered fic for The Twelve Days of Teyla.
> 
> Originally posted January 2008.

DUE DATE

“Are you sure you don’t want to know the sex of the baby?” 

From her location on the exam table in the infirmary, Teyla stared up at the ceiling, a slight smile on her lips while Jennifer Keller moved the ultrasound probe slowly on her distended belly. The doctor always asked her that exact same question whenever she had an ultrasound and she always had the same answer. “No,” she said firmly. “I prefer to wait.”

“All right,” Jennifer said cheerfully, not at all put out. The probed pressed in slightly and Teyla felt her baby give a little kick in response. “Baby sure is active today,” the doctor commented. The probe made several more passes over her lower belly before Teyla heard Doctor Keller switch off the machine.

Teyla rose up on her elbows and looked on as Jennifer wiped the gel off her skin. Her formerly flat stomach was now rounded and swollen; her dark skin seemed to be stretched almost too tightly. “The baby is all right?”

“Yes,” Jennifer replied with a quick smile. “Growing and developing just like a healthy baby should.”

Teyla could sense no deceit or guile in the doctor’s voice or open expression. Sometimes it still didn’t seem quite real to her, that she was going to have a child. She had always hoped that one day she would be so blessed, she just hadn’t imagined these particular circumstances. Sighing softly, she accepted the hand Jennifer held out to her, helping her up. The doctor busied herself with putting the equipment away while Teyla put her shirt back on. 

She’d taken to wearing T-shirts and the boxy BDU shirts since she’d started showing. They were more comfortable and she felt less…exposed. Though everyone had been more than kind and understanding…Teyla frowned slightly, almost everyone. Pushing those thoughts aside, she turned around and found Doctor Keller waiting. “Is there something else, Doctor?”

“Teyla, I think its time we started some childbirth education classes. You’re due in eight weeks, give or take a week or two, so we have plenty of time, even if the baby decides to come early.”

“I do not understand, Doctor. Childbirth education? As I understand it, the baby is just…born.”

Jennifer chuckled. “Well, there’s a bit more to it than that.” The other woman looked at her curiously. “Have you ever seen a birth?”

Teyla felt surprisingly uncomfortable with the doctor’s question and she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t that she had never had the opportunity to attend a birth, but that had always been the work of the midwives and other women in their community—not her work. “I have not personally witnessed the birth of a child before, but I have seen many animals….” Her voice trailed off when she realized how inadequate her reasoning sounded.

“That’s okay, Teyla,” Jennifer said quickly. “There’s no need to worry, we all have different skills and talents. Let’s go to my office and we’ll set up a schedule.”

Teyla followed the doctor to her office, conscious of the curious eyes of the few staff members present. She always felt like people were watching her now and she wasn’t sure why. Once in Doctor Keller’s office, Teyla lowered herself carefully onto one of the chairs while Keller went to her desk. “Why does everyone stare at me so?” she asked.

“Oh, people are always curious about pregnant women.” Jennifer looked up, her head tilted slightly as if studying her and Teyla forced herself to sit quietly. “Having a baby may seem like something very common and ordinary, but for Atlantis?” Her smile was gentle. “I think it’s anything but common, given our circumstances.”

Teyla knew what she meant, knew that she meant her circumstances; her baby’s father missing, along with the rest of her people, not to mention the peril that seemed to constantly surround them. There were times when she felt very alone and isolated, longing for the comfort that only her people and the father of her child could bring her. 

“All right, let’s start your classes this Thursday. Lauren Cho,” Jennifer said, naming one of the nurses, “was a Lamaze coach and has childbirth education experience, so I think,” she smiled brightly, “between the two of us, we can get you ready for the birth of your child.” 

Teyla inclined her head, gracefully accepting that she had little choice in the matter of childbirth education. And, she acknowledged honestly, while she tried to keep it hidden, she was nervous about the actual birth. Realizing that Doctor Keller was still speaking, Teyla focused on her.

“—all you need is a labor coach.”

“I’m sorry,” Teyla said, confused. “A labor coach?”

“Oh, sorry. Someone who stays with you during your labor and the delivery; supporting you and helping you during the birthing process.”

“I thought you would be the one helping with the birth?”

“Oh, I’ll be there all right, don’t worry about that, but as your doctor, not your coach. If the baby’s father was here, he’d be your labor coach, but since he’s not….”

“I see.” Teyla hadn’t really given much thought to labor and the birth yet, it still seemed such a far-away prospect. Thinking back, she remembered that when she had still lived with her people, there had always seemed a large number of people involved in attending the birth of a child. She wished now that she had paid more attention back when she had the opportunity. “It would be just one person?”

Jennifer nodded. “They’ll need to come to the classes with you.”

“Very well.”

“All right then,” Jennifer said brightly. “Let’s say Thursday evening at 1900—we’ll meet here in my office to begin with.”

Teyla nodded and managed a slight smile for the cheerful doctor before she left the infirmary. It was late on Monday afternoon, which meant she had just about three days to find a suitable ‘coach’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teyla sat cross legged in the middle of her bed and studied the list she’d made of potential labor coaches. There were half a dozen names on her list and all she needed to do was decide which person to ask. And given that it was now Wednesday afternoon, she was running out of time. Her baby kicked, as if encouraging her, and she smiled. Her child was rapidly becoming less of an abstract thought and more of a reality every day. Okay, she could do this, she told herself. Picking up her pencil, she looked at the first name on the list, Evan Lorne.

Lorne was a good man, solid and level-headed in a fight, and always there with a friendly smile and a cheerful word. Points in his favor were that he had brothers and sisters, so he knew about children. She had no doubt that he would agree to be her coach, but she wasn’t sure he was the one, for while she liked and respected him, she also needed to continually maintain her credibility as a warrior with him and the other military personnel. Not that having a baby should have that much impact, but she couldn’t help but notice that everyone treated her differently now, especially the men. They were a bit more cautious and careful around her, as if she had become incredibly fragile and could break at any moment. She’d reserve Major Lorne as a back-up, she decided.

The second person on her list was Colonel Carter. She’d placed her name there mostly as a formality and she knew the Colonel would agree to coach her, if she asked. But…it wasn’t that she didn’t like the other woman, however the same issues she had with Lorne were present with Colonel Carter. Consciously, Teyla knew she didn’t have to prove herself to the other woman, but she also felt like her pregnancy had compromised her value to her team and as a result, to the whole Pegasus expedition. It wasn’t rational, but being pregnant didn’t always seem to make her thoughts rational, so Teyla crossed Colonel Carter off her list.

Ronon was number three. Teyla rested her chin on her hand and considered the Satedan warrior. He was good friend and there wasn’t anyone she’d trust more at her side in a fight. But would he be a good labor coach? She just didn’t know, as much as she valued his friendship, she wasn’t sure he had the patience to support her during the potentially long hours of labor. He was a man of action and she could just see him, restlessly pacing the confines of the labor room like a caged animal, so she crossed him off the list.

Teyla smiled at the next name and wondered what had possessed her to even put Rodney McKay’s name on her list. Yes, he was her team mate and he had shown considerable personal growth during the years she’d known him, but he was still basically self-centered and narcissistic and she really had to wonder if he’d be able to hold up to the demands of being a labor coach—not to mention the blood and body fluid factor involved in giving birth. 

Crossing Rodney off her list, Teyla looked at the next name she’d written…John. Sighing, she unfolded her legs and stretched, trying to ease some of the pressure from the baby on her lower back. Resting her hand on her belly, she felt the child wiggle too and she smiled softly. Her relationship with John had become even more complicated ever since she’d revealed her pregnancy. The surprise and shock on his face had been expected, what she hadn’t expected though was the hurt she briefly saw in his eyes before he had snapped at her. Of course, since that first moment he had remained painfully calm and controlled; it was only in those rare moments when his guard was down that she could sense the seething emotions he kept so carefully hidden. 

Her feelings for John were complex, probably just as complex as she sensed his feelings were for her. Which was perhaps why she had responded so easily and eagerly to Kannan; her fellow Athosian posessed an uncomplicated view and practical approach to life that was a refreshing and welcome change from the intensity and demands of her daily life on Atlantis—and the unspoken demands of John Sheppard. Perhaps it had been unfair to Kannan, to accept the comfort and love he offered when her own feelings for him were less than clear, but she could not undo what had been done. No, she decided sadly, crossing through John’s name, for while she knew John would make an excellent labor coach, it would not be fair to either of them.

Which brought her to the last name on her list—Radek Zelenka. The Czech scientist was solid, dependable...and had the patience to put up with the arrogance of Rodney McKay on a daily basis. He was also kind and gentle and probably the best candidate on her list to be her labor coach. With that decided, Teyla set her list aside and set out in search of the scientist, so she could convince him to be her labor coach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SIX WEEKS LATER 

Teyla had just changed into the loose fitting yoga pants and top that had been a gift from Lauren Cho—there had been no stopping the determined nurse once she’d decided Teyla needed more comfortable clothing for the childbirth classes—when the chime for her door sounded. Thinking it was Radek, she picked up the tote containing the supplies necessary for class and opened the door with a cheerful smile, only to falter slightly when instead of Radek, she found Rodney at her door. His eyes met hers briefly before he looked away, shifting his feet in the awkward silence.

“What can I do for you, Rodney?” she asked, not knowing what else to say.

“Um…well, it’s like this.” He took a big breath and looked somewhere over her left shoulder. “I’ve come to take you to your childbirth thingy.”

“Where is Radek?” Suppressing a flutter of panic, Teyla peered down the corridor, willing the scientist to appear.

Rodney sighed, looking increasingly uncomfortable. “I guess you haven’t heard then.”

“Heard what?” Rodney had her complete attention now.

“He fell this morning, tripped going up the stairs to the control room. Broke his ankle.”

“Oh no!” Teyla felt a rush of sympathy for her friend. “Is he all right?”

Rodney nodded, still not quite meeting her eyes. “He will be, but he needs surgery. Keller stabilized his ankle but said he needs an orthopedic surgeon, so she sent him and one of the nurses through to Midway so he can have surgery back on Earth.”

“I see.” As bad as she felt for Radek, she couldn’t help but feel letdown herself. Over the past weeks that the two of them had been attending the childbirth classes together, they had developed a closeness and bond she hadn’t expected. Radek hadn’t really surprised her when she found him to be a firm, yet compassionate, coach. And while she would never admit to being scared of giving birth, she found great comfort in the knowledge that he would be with her when the time came.

“Before he left, he told me about your classes and what he was doing.” Rodney finally looked her in the eye. 

Teyla finally realized why he was there. “And he asked you to take over for him?”

“Yes, made me promise,” he said, letting out a deep breath and rushing on. “I told him I don’t know anything about childbirth and you probably wouldn’t want me with you, I mean, I’ll probably faint at the sight of all that blood, but he was almost hysterical and wouldn’t let them take him through the gate until I agreed.”

Teyla found it doubtful that Radek had been hysterical, but she could imagine him being concerned enough to ask someone even as unlikely as Rodney to take his place. 

“So, I’ll understand if you don’t want me to go with you.” 

Rodney’s voice was uncharacteristically humble and Teyla was surprised at the almost beseeching look in his eyes. He hadn’t been her first choice and he wasn’t even her second choice, but Radek had asked him and now that he knew…. Teyla knew she was taking a big risk when she smiled and said, “I would most grateful if you would fill in for Radek while he is gone.”

Rodney looked surprised and then he smiled. “Oh good,” he replied, falling into step with her when she started down the corridor. “I’ve been doing some research already and I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the basics.”

Teyla’s lips curved in a small smile. “Then I’m sure you will find it easy to catch up. Tonight we are to watch a DVD of a real delivery.”

“A real delivery? Of a real baby?” he asked, his voice suddenly pitched slightly higher. “I mean, they’ve edited haven’t they? Surely they won’t show everything?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The contractions started so slowly during the night, Teyla didn’t even realize they were contractions until mid-morning. But she didn’t say anything, merely continued to listen to Major Lorne report his team’s findings from their latest mission in search of the missing Athosians. Sadly, what had seemed a promising lead had turned out to be nothing and her people were still nowhere to be found. But as the briefing wore on, she began feeling distinctly uncomfortable and even though she was still almost a week from her due date, Teyla had no doubt that she had started labor.

When it seemed that the briefing was going to drag on, Teyla left as discreetly as a largely pregnant woman could. Colonel Carter acknowledged her departure with a sympathetic smile and Teyla decided the other woman probably figured she had to use the bathroom. Making her way through the control room, she felt less than graceful with her mild waddle and now that she was standing, Teyla realized that the baby was riding lower than usual. Walking as quickly as she could under the circumstances, she made her way to the dining hall where she was certain her labor coach would be eating lunch.

The early lunch crowd was already in the dining hall and she saw Rodney, sitting with John and Ronon, at their usual table. Weaving her way through the tables, she finally reached them. The three men barely paused in their eating to acknowledge her arrival.

“Rodney,” she said, addressing the scientist, who was working his way through a plate full of spaghetti with meat sauce. “It is time.”

He looked up at her, his fork held halfway between his mouth and plate, dripping with spaghetti. “Time? For what?”

Teyla placed one hand on her stomach and looked steadily at him. His eyes grew big and he blanched slightly, the fork dropping to his plate with a clatter. 

“Oh right. That.” Hurriedly wiping his face with his napkin, he pushed his chair out and stood. Both John and Ronon looked on in obvious confusion.

“Time for what?” John asked, his tone suspicious.

“How far apart are they?” Rodney asked, taking hold of her arm.

“McKay….”

John was starting to sound more than suspicious, he was sounding downright annoyed. Teyla hadn’t told the other members of her team that she had been going to childbirth classes and Rodney had kept her secret. However, they would find out soon enough now. “It is okay, Rodney,” Teyla said, placing her hand over his. Ronon had stopped eating and was looking at her now, as was John.

“Rodney is my labor coach,” she told the two men. 

“Your labor coach?” John’s eyes narrowed, but Teyla didn’t look away. “You asked Rodney to be your labor coach?” Though he didn’t say it, the accusation hung heavily in the air between them. 

She felt another contraction, stronger than any of the previous ones and she grabbed Rodney’s hand, squeezing tightly. “I do not have time for this conversation now,” she gasped.

“That’s enough from you, Sheppard. Come on,” McKay said, his voice strong and full of authority. “We need to get you to the infirmary right away.” For once Teyla was grateful for his arrogant manner and responding to the tug of his hand, turned to follow him out of the dining hall.

“Hey! What’s going on?” she heard Sheppard ask peevishly.

“I don’t know,” Ronon rumbled. “Maybe she’s in labor.”

The last thing she heard Sheppard exclaim was, “Labor?” when another strong contraction spread through her. 

“We must hurry, Rodney,” she panted, gripping his hand tighter.

“Don’t you worry, Teyla,” he replied confidently. “The baby won’t be here for hours yet.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much to her dismay, Rodney had been correct, her labor lasted for almost twenty-four hours. And much to her pleasure and perhaps his surprise, Rodney had acquitted himself perfectly as a labor coach. He had been right there with her through every contraction, encouraging her and breathing with her, sweating almost as much as she had been. But the end result had been so worth it. Teyla smiled down at the peaceful face of her sleeping baby. 

Unable to resist, she carefully loosened the blanket around him, once more marveling at his tiny hands with their ten tiny fingers and his little feet with their matching toes. His skin was a light cream color and the few tufts of hair on his head were dark. She wondered idly if he would grow up to look like her or his father. She supposed it was the nature of first-time motherhood, but when he had still been inside her, she truly hadn’t realized the enormity of how her life was going to change the moment she held her baby in her arms. She only hoped now that Kannan would one day get to know his son.

“Hey.”

John stood in the doorway of the small room that had been converted into a birthing room/nursery just for her delivery. 

“I’m all washed up.” He held up his hands. “The nurse said I could come in…that is if it’s okay with you?” He looked uncertain of his welcome and in spite of her happiness; she felt a dull ache flutter uncertainly in her heart. She had lost Kannan, she didn’t want to lose John too. 

Teyla smiled. “Please come in, John.”

“So,” he said, crossing over to the bed and peering down at the sleeping infant. “This is the little guy.” He reached out with one finger, lightly touching the baby’s hand, his little fingers automatically curling around John’s much larger one. “Hey,” he murmured. “You’ve got quite the grip there, kiddo.”

Carefully disengaging his finger from the baby’s, he sat down in the rocking chair by the bed. “How are you feeling?” His voice was low and gentle, sending a little thrill up alongside the ache in her heart.

Teyla considered his question. She was a little sore, a lot tired and she couldn’t be happier. “I do not believe I could feel any better.”

John seemed to relax, settling back in the chair and rocking slowly. “Well,” he drawled, “to hear McKay tell it, he did all the work. He’s in the dining hall now, eating like he’s been starved for days.”

She chuckled softly. “He was a very good coach, he hardly left my side.” She lightly stroked her baby’s slight ruff of dark hair, smiling tenderly when he squirmed and seemed to nestle closer to her. “I don’t think I could have done it without him.”

“Have you decided on a name?” John asked, changing the subject abruptly.

Teyla glanced over at him. “I have not decided yet. I was thinking to perhaps name him after my father.”

“Not his father?” John winced slightly and she knew he regretted the question.

“That is also a possibility,” she agreed softly.

“Well….” John said, after a long moment. “I’ll leave you two to get some rest.” He stood and leaned so close that she could smell the soap he used, their eyes meeting before he bent his head and kissed the top of the baby’s head. Her eyes closed on a brief wave of longing and before she could give into the urge to ruffle her fingers through John’s hair like she had done with her son, he was gone. 

John stopped at the door and looked back at her, his eyes dark with emotion. “I would have been there for you.” He gestured towards her and her son. “You know, during the delivery.”

“I know, John.” She could barely get the words out over the lump in her throat. “I know.”

He nodded, apparently satisfied with her answer and without another word, disappeared as silently as he’d appeared. Teyla sighed softly, once more looking back down at the still sleeping infant. She truly had not decided yet, but there was no reason her son could not have John as one of his names.

THE END


End file.
